Roller ball luggage system

ABSTRACT

A roller travel luggage system includes a standard carry-on case or travel bag fitted with a large roller ball at the bottom end. The roller ball is captured in a socket ring on the bottom end that allows the roller ball to turn in any direction. The roller ball and socket ring are positioned at the center of the leading edge and two legs for upright standing are placed on the outside corners of the trailing edge of the bottom end. These legs are sized such that the roller travel luggage can stand up upright on its own without assistance. Alternatively, these legs can be fitted with small roller bearings on their ends such that the roller travel luggage can be easily scooted around short distances while standing upright.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to travel luggage, and inparticular to roller traveling cases commonly used as carry-on bags inair travel.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The airline industry has started to charge extra fees for checkedluggage and has limits on the weights and sizes of all the thingstravelers usually bring with them on a flight. The incentives have beenincreasing to bring carry-on luggage at the same time strict limits havebeen placed on the dimensions that are acceptable.

International airports have been getting more common and grown larger insize over what airports used to be. Air travelers frequently have towalk several hundred yards to get from parking to their gates andbetween concourse on connecting flights. So carry-on cases with littlewheels and telescoping handles have been a universal convenience formillions of modern travelers.

However the small wheels commonly used on roller travel bags aredifficult to steer and do not roll well over many common surfaces.Steering the roller travel bag usually requires large lateral swings ofthe handle that may not be possible in confined aisles. The littlewheels are fixed in a straight ahead direction and the roller travel bagwill resist being nudged to the side. Any such nudging will usually tipthe bag over on its side, and righting it can be clumsy and obstructother passengers.

What is needed is large ball roller that is quick and easy to maneuverin confined aisles and other obstacles often encountered by airtravelers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, a roller travel luggage system embodiment of the presentinvention includes a standard carry-on case or travel bag fitted with alarge roller ball at the bottom end. The roller ball is captured in asocket ring on the bottom end that allows the roller ball to turn in anydirection. The roller ball and socket ring are positioned at the centerof the leading edge and two legs for upright standing are placed on theoutside corners of the trailing edge of the bottom end. These legs aresized such that the roller travel luggage can stand up upright on itsown without assistance. Alternatively, these legs can be fitted withsmall roller bearings on their ends such that the roller travel luggagecan be easily scooted around short distances while standing upright.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will nodoubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after havingread the following detailed description of the preferred embodimentsthat are illustrated in the various drawing figures.

IN THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are side and front views of a roller travel luggagesystem embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded assembly view of a roller ball and socket ringthat can be used in various embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a perspective view and an exploded assembly view ofa ball caster with a vertical pivot that can be used in variousembodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4C are side views with superimposed schematics of a travelroller bag that is similar to roller travel luggage system of FIGS.1A-1B, but has a ball transfer caster and tilting extension mechanismmounted on a pivot. The superimposed schematics detail the mechanismthat connects the handle to the ball transfer caster and tiltingextension mechanism; and

FIGS. 5A-5D are side and back views of a roller travel bag in anembodiment of the present invention that uses a very different kind ofsingle roller compared to FIGS. 1A-1B and 4A-4C. In FIGS. 5A-5B, thesingle roller is extended for standing or walking, and in FIGS. 5C-5D,the single roller is retracted for stowing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1A and 1B represent a roller travel luggage system embodiment ofthe present invention, and is referred to herein by the generalreference numeral 100. In general, roller travel luggage system 100includes a carry-on case or travel bag 102 fitted with a large rollerball 104 at a bottom end 106. In one embodiment, the carry-on case ortravel bag 102 has two halves, a front half case 108 and a back halfcase 110. A telescoping handle 112 pops out of a top end 114 from theback half case 110. A compartment 116 provides quick access and storagefor small items, especially those needed when shuffling through securitylines, passport control, and ticketing.

Roller ball 104 is a hollow sphere that fits into and is captured by asocket ring 118. These pieces can be made from polycarbonate,Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone (PEEK), nylon, or other plastics and metals withgood wear and abrasion resistance and sliding ability. Roller ball 104is free to rotate in any direction inside socket ring 118, much like ashoulder socket. Socket ring 118 may be a complete orbit closed allaround roller ball 104. It can include small roller ball bearings tohelp roller ball 104 twist and turn inside socket ring 118.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the roller ball 104 andsocket ring 118 are fixed, in others they are articulated to extend outand retract in. One kind of articulating mechanism can be attached totelescoping handle 112 such that when the users pulls out the handle,the roller ball 104 and socket ring 118 are forcefully extended andlocked to take on the weight of the whole roller travel luggage system100. And when the telescoping handle 112 is pushed back down inback-half case 110, the roller ball 104 and socket ring 118 are unlockedand retracted back inside bottom end 106.

Two outrigger stands 120 and 122 are provided to help roller travelluggage system 100 stand up on its end. These and roller ball 104 form astable tripod. Outrigger stands 120 and 122 may include ball roller endsthat would assist a user trying to scoot the roller travel luggagesystem 100 around on the floor while standing upright.

FIG. 2 provides more detail on how roller ball 104 and socket ring 118can be constructed. A roller ball assembly 200 comprises a socket 202that cups dozens of small roller bearings 204, and has a retaining ringand seal 206. A hollow spherical ball 208 comprises two hemisphericalhalves 210 and 212 that are joined together and inserted into retainingring and seal 206. Under load, hollow spherical ball 208 is able torotate in any direction with very little friction within retaining ringand seal 206. The design and construction of roller ball 104 and socketring 118 can be like the ball transfer casters described in U.S. Pat.No. 3,920,290, issued Nov. 18, 1975 to Kingsley S. Evarts, and also U.S.Pat. No. 3,466,697, issued Sep. 16, 1969, to Earl S. Cain, et al.Commercial flange-mount and stud-mount ball transfer casters are sold onthe Internet at www.castersupply.com.

FIGS. 3A and 3B represent a ball caster 300 with a vertical pivot 302.Two independent hemispheres, 304 and 306 share a common axle 308 thatpasses through a hub 310. Ball caster 300 can be used as a substitutefor roller ball 104 and socket ring 118 in alternative embodiments ofroller travel luggage system 100.

FIG. 4A-4C represent a travel roller bag 400 that is similar to rollertravel luggage system 100 of FIGS. 1A-1B. The travel roller bag 400includes a carry-on case or travel bag 402 fitted with a ball transfercaster and tilting extension mechanism 404 mounted on a pivot 406. Thecarry-on case or travel bag 402 has two halves, a front half case 408and a back half case 410. A telescoping handle 412 can be pulled out bythe user from a top end from the back half case 410, and this will causethe ball transfer caster and tilting extension mechanism 404 to extendout on pivot 406, as in FIG. 4B.

A compartment 416 provides quick access and storage for small items,especially those needed when shuffling through security lines, passportcontrol, and ticketing.

A handle linkage 418 connects handle 412 to a 180-degree bell crank 420with a mechanical advantage of 8:1. For every eight inches handle 412 ismoved up or down, ball transfer caster and tilting extension mechanism404 will be pushed oppositely one inch on pivot 406. A pushrod 422attaches the 180-degree bell crank 420 to the ball transfer caster andtilting extension mechanism 404. A pair of standing legs 424 can bearticulated to move in and out in tandem with ball transfer caster andtilting extension mechanism 404.

Pivot 406 and the geometry of ball transfer caster and tilting extensionmechanism 404 provide the optimum extension angles seen in FIG. 4C. Whena user extends handle 412 and tilts the whole travel roller bag 400forward to begin walking, the ball transfer caster will be square withthe ground surface.

FIGS. 5A-5D represent a roller travel bag 500 in an embodiment of thepresent invention that uses a very different kind of single rollercompared to FIGS. 1A-1B and 4A-4C. The main case can be a singleconstruction or two half shells 502 and 504. The back half shell isfitted with a telescoping handle 506 and the front half shell 502 mayinclude a convenience pouch 508 to hold small items needed duringtravel.

A large, American football shaped roller 512 is mounted through itsopposite pointed ends to a horizontal axle 514. Roller 512 is shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B extended out and ready to carry the weight of rollertravel bag 500 and its contents. A pair of small legs 516 and 518 arealso extended out so the roller travel bag 500 can be stood up on itsend.

Handle 506 is connected through handle links 520 to a tie bar 522. Apair of connecting rods 524 and 525 attach to left and right 180-degreebellcranks 526 and 527. These can rotate on pivots 528 and 528,producing a mechanical advantage. For example, the mechanical advantagecan be fixed from 4:1 to 16:1, depending on how far handle 506 can bepulled up and how far down roller 512 needs to be extended out. This, ofcourse, will vary with each particular application. An axle yoke 530 iscomprised of left and right yoke arms 532 and 533 connected to theoutboard ends of axle 514.

FIGS. 5A-5B show handle 506 extended out and roller travel bag 500 readyto stand or be walked. FIGS. 5C-5D show handle 506 pushed in and rollertravel bag 500 ready to stow.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of thepresently preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that thedisclosure is not to be interpreted as limiting. Various alterations andmodifications will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the artafter having read the above disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended thatthe appended claims be interpreted as covering all alterations andmodifications as fall within the “true” spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A roller travel luggage system, comprising: a carry-on case or travelbag fitted with a large roller ball at its bottom end, wherein theroller ball is captured in a socket ring on the bottom end that allowsthe roller ball to turn in any direction; wherein, the roller ball andsocket ring are positioned at the center of the leading edge of thecarry-on case or travel bag, and two legs for upright standing areplaced on the outside corners of the trailing edge of the bottom end;and wherein, the legs are sized and located such that the roller travelluggage system can stand up upright on its own without assistance. 2.The roller travel luggage system of claim 1, further comprising: rollerbearings fitted on the ends of the legs such that the roller travelluggage can be scooted around short distances while standing upright. 3.A roller travel bag, comprising: a carry-on case with a top, sides,front, back, and bottom; a ball transfer caster mounted on a pivot andembedded in the bottom of the carry-on case, wherein the ball transfercaster is able to rotate on the pivot and extend out the bottom to carrythe weight of the carry-on case; a handle attached to the top of thecarry-on case; and a pair of standing legs fixed to the bottom of thecarry-on case.
 4. The roller travel bag of claim 3, further comprising:a tilting extension mechanism mounted on the pivot such that balltransfer caster will roll normal to a ground surface when the carry-oncase is tilted forward and walked by a user.
 5. The roller travel bag ofclaim 4, further comprising: a linkage connecting the handle to thetilting extension mechanism, wherein extending the handle causes theball transfer caster to be extended out, and wherein collapsing thehandle causes the ball transfer caster to be retracted in.
 6. The rollertravel bag of claim 5, further comprising: a 180-degree bell crank togive the linkage a mechanical advantage between the handle and thetilting extension mechanism.
 7. A roller travel bag, comprising: acarry-on case with a top, sides, front, back, and bottom; afootball-shaped roller mounted through its opposite pointed ends to ahorizontal axle and a yoke, and embedded in the bottom of the carry-oncase, wherein the roller is able to turn on the axle and extend out thebottom to carry the weight of the carry-on case; a handle attached tothe top of the carry-on case; and a pair of standing legs fixed to thebottom of the carry-on case.
 8. The roller travel bag of claim 7,further comprising: a linkage connecting the handle to the horizontalaxle, wherein extending the handle causes the roller to be extended out,and wherein collapsing the handle causes the roller to be retracted in.9. The roller travel bag of claim 8, further comprising: a 180-degreebell crank to give the linkage a mechanical advantage between the handleand the horizontal axle and the roller.